Red-White-Red Card for a Cook in Austria: Points, Pay, Cost

Austria's 2026 nationwide shortage occupation list names restaurant cooks, and the job titles under it explicitly include Sushikoch/-köchin. That opens the Red-White-Red Card for skilled workers in shortage occupations to a Japanese restaurant, provided the cook holds completed vocational training and scores at least 55 of 90 points. Pay must clear the Gastgewerbe collective agreement rate, which for a qualified cook (Koch, Beschäftigungsgruppe 4) runs from about €2,200 a month; the card itself costs around €160 in government fees. Budget several months for the MA 35 or equivalent authority to decide.

1. Cooks on the 2026 shortage list, sushi cooks by name

Austria publishes its shortage occupations every year in a regulation from the Federal Minister for Labour and Economy (the Fachkräfteverordnung). For 2026, the nationwide list has 64 occupations; number 47 is Gaststättenköche/Gaststättenköchinnen (restaurant cooks), and the job titles grouped under it include Koch/Köchin, Chef de partie, Souschef, Chef de Cuisine, Küchenchef/in, and Sushikoch/-köchin by name, alongside Pizzakoch/-köchin and Patissier(e). Because it is on the nationwide list, it applies everywhere in Austria, Vienna included.

2. The points test, worked through

A skilled worker in a shortage occupation needs at least 55 of 90 points (plus 5 bonus points for English where English is the company's main working language):

Worked example: a 28 year old cook who completed culinary school training, has five years in restaurants, English at B1 and no German scores 30 (training) + 10 (5 half years × 1) + 10 (English B1) + 15 (age) = 65, above the 55 needed. A 42 year old with the same training, ten or more years' experience and no English or German scores 30 + 20 (capped) + 0 + 5 = 55, just enough. Completed training is also a condition of the route in its own right, separate from the points, so it decides most cases in practice. The migration portal requires training comparable to a multi-year Austrian apprenticeship; for a Japanese cook that usually means a culinary school certificate (調理師学校) plus employment references. A cook who learned entirely on the job may struggle here whatever their experience.

3. Pay: the collective agreement rate

The portal requires at least the minimum set by law, regulation or collective agreement, plus any above-scale pay customary in the business. Austria's hospitality sector runs on the Kollektivvertrag für das Gastgewerbe. A qualified cook (Koch, typically Beschäftigungsgruppe 4 of the agreement) starts at roughly €2,200 to €2,400 gross a month depending on the current wage round and years of service; a head chef or Küchenchef (Beschäftigungsgruppe 5 or above) runs higher. These figures move with the annual Gastgewerbe wage settlement, usually effective each May, so confirm the current table with the Fachverband Gastronomie or your payroll adviser before you fix an offer; do not carry last year's figure forward. Vienna's market rate for an experienced, bilingual sushi cook typically sits above the collective agreement floor, given the small local pool covered in the next section.

Japan's foreign ministry counted 3,415 Japanese nationals in Austria on 1 October 2025, so the pool of Japanese speaking cooks already in the country is small. For most Austrian Japanese restaurants, hiring from abroad is not optional, which is part of why pay needs to clear the floor comfortably rather than sit at it.

4. Applying, including in Vienna

The application can be made by the cook, in person, at the Austrian embassy or consulate for their country of residence, or by the employer at the competent residence authority in Austria: in Vienna that is the MA 35; in Graz the Styrian provincial government; in Lower Austria the provincial government; elsewhere the district authority or, in statutory cities, the city magistrate. With the application, the employer submits an employer's declaration (Arbeitgebererklärung); the cook provides a passport, a recent photo, proof of health insurance and evidence for each points criterion, with documents not in German or English translated. The authority forwards the file to the AMS, which checks points, training and pay; if everything is in order, the authority issues the card.

The card is issued for 24 months and allows work only for the named employer. If the cook changes employer during those two years, a new application is needed, though the cook may provisionally start the new job 45 days after a complete application is filed. After at least 21 months of qualifying employment within 24 months, the cook can apply for the Red-White-Red Card plus, which removes the employer restriction.

5. Cost and schedule

A backward schedule, since the portal does not publish one combined processing time:

6. Copy-paste offer summary for your candidate

English gloss: restaurant name and city, role title matching the shortage list wording, permit route (Red-White-Red Card, 24 months), gross monthly salary at or above the applicable Gastgewerbe pay group, contract length and probation, target start date flagged as dependent on card timing, and who pays for housing and travel.

7. An Austrian hiring plan

1. Confirm the role fits "Gaststättenköche" on the current year's list, and use a matching job title in the contract.
2. Check the candidate's training certificates first; without completed training, the route fails regardless of experience.
3. Score the candidate against the points table, and confirm this year's Gastgewerbe collective agreement rate before fixing the offer.
4. Prepare the employer's declaration and a contract at or above that rate.
5. Send the candidate the offer summary above, then apply through the embassy or, as employer, at MA 35 or the competent authority elsewhere.
6. Plan for renewal and the Red-White-Red Card plus after 21 months.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. The shortage list and collective agreement rates change every year; confirm with the AMS, the residence authority or a qualified adviser before acting.